Volunteers, to move back to the timber or edge of the swamp to cut off the rebels if Colonel Paine should drive them up the river, and followed with the other force was rapidly as possible to land. When about 1 1/2 miles back from the river I found a good road, running parallel with the river, made for the sole use of the rebel forces in their guerrilla raids along the river, the came hiding them completely from the river. I posted a small force on each side of the rebel road, masked by tail weeds on the bank of one of the many ditches running from the river to the swamp, and sent the Fourth Wisconsin Regiment and three guns of the Indiana battery to the support of Captain Roy, who had discovered the rebels in the edge of the swamp, but cut off from going up the river. Soon after posting the force on the rebel by-road a large body of them approached to within three-fourths of a mile of the force on the road, then temporarily under command of Captain McLaffin when one of my men, who had been ordered back by Captain Roy, was discovered by them, and 3 of the ragged villains started at full speed to capture or kill him. When within 30 paces of Captain McLaffin my man dropped to the ground, and in an instant Captain McLaffin's command had killed and wounded the 3 rash rebels, killing 1 horse and capturing the other 2. As soon as the main body saw their rash comrades fall they stopped, and turned and fled through the came toward the swamp, where they were again foiled by Captain Roy's command.

Having gotten all the artillery landed, I posted the two 12-pounder howitzers of Thompson's battery on the rebel road, supported by a portion of the Twenty-first Indiana and Fourth Wisconsin Volunteers, the main force being near the swamp where the rebels were ambushed. I ordered the Indiana battery into position and shelled the weeds for a few moments, when the rebels broke out of their weedy ambush and ran to the swamp, covered by heavy timber. When I found they were gone into the swamp I advanced my guns (having ordered up Lieutentant Hartley, with one of his howitzers) as far as the ground would permit and shelled the border of the woods for a short time; but soon becoming the rebels had taken to the swamp, I ordered five companies of the Twenty-first Indiana, under Captain Roy, and five companies of the Fourth Wisconsin, all under command of Lieutentant-Colonel Bean, of the Fourth Wisconsin, to follow them into the swamp. They followed the horse-tracks until they found the horses, to the number of 300 or 350, belly-deep in mud and water, tied to the trees, and deserted by their riders. They came up with, shot, and captured several of the rebels, but they were scattered so much that pursuit soon appeared useless, and, after getting 200 of their horses, Lieutentant-Colonel Bean prudently left the pursuit of the rebels and returned to solid ground once more, with his men tired and muddy, many of the men and officers having been to their waists in mud and water. I then returned to the boats, satisfied the only chance left the rebels for escape was up the river, and that, by sending a force above, I could capture them. In the mean time Colonel Paine, finding the enemy were above him, had moved up to where I had landed. At my suggestion he took the Fourteenth Maine Regiment and went up the river about 10 or 11 miles, to a point where it was said the rebels had left one company and all their stores and camp equipage. When I got the captured horses on board of the transports I found that I could not possibly take any more if I captured them. I therefore resolved to return to Carrollton, leave the horses, and return again by sunrise of to-day. Having ordered the Ninth Connecticut Regiment to join Colonel Paine, I came down, arriving about 7 p.m. Left the captured horses, and,